It seems incredible the leaps and bounds that were made in less than ten years of cinema back some 90 years ago. D W Griffith's portrait of the great, noble pioneer in U.S politics has all the standard techniques and flourishes that now seem to have become the norm. Walter Houston looks to be perfectly cast as 'Abe' - towering and dominant without being domineering and having that air of quiet authority. That he was humanitarian and resisted conflict whenever able to. It was nice also to have wife Mary's domestic quibbles thrown in, making this an interesting character study rather than a stiff history lesson.As for history, no, I didn't learn a great deal, but didn't expect to. I wanted more to see how one of the great pioneering film directors portrayed another Great Man. The wonderfully produced epitaph in the final seconds showed testament to the power of them both.Yes, the film's sound is hissy and pretty scratchy (I viewed it on-line at Internet Archive) but compared to most movies, certainly of that era and posted on that site, I found it surprisingly enjoyable and effortless.

The name of D.W.Griffith dates back to the silent era. To date, all his films possessed definite trademarks, such as grandeur, spectacle and adherence to entertainment. This early Black and White film called " Abraham Lincoln " was created back in 1930. For the true movie fan, the hissing background noise, poor soundtrack and uneven movie cuts are to be accepted as original efforts. The film does take literary license with the story of Abraham Lincoln (Walter Huston) and features his life story in several segments beginning with his birth in the now famous log Cabin, story teller, sparking Ann Rutledge, rail splitting, practicing law, to the spirited debate with Steven Douglas and commander of the Union forces during the civil war. Through all, the director creates a majestic film tapestry of the 16th president of the U. S. and a movie Classic in it's own right. ****

This is the story Of President Abraham Lincoln from his birth to his assassination. We see him grow up and become a wild character and we see him fall in love only to lose her to death and then struggle for a long time trying to get over her. We see him fall for another woman and how she helped him get to become one of the greatest presidents of our time. We get to see the civil war start and him stand his ground to preserve the union and make this country one country truly united and to free slavery. We see how one angry actor who stood against Linclons views took his life and destroyed a good man, but his legacy and the things he stood for as president lived on.I knew some of the basics about Abe from school, but here the way he was presented I gained much more respect for the man. The guy playing him did such a wonderful job. I must admit all of the actors here were so amazing. This is an old movie but it was just a beautiful thing to set through.D.W. Griffith is one of the great directors of our time, In 1930 there was maybe only 1 other person that could compare and that was Fritz Lang. Griffiths work here is ace. I loved the shots, I loved the way they were set up and shot and his editor did a fine job as well. The sound was bad, but it was old and I have a cheap DVD version of it so it is possible a better version is available.So from a great story, to the beautiful direction and great acting and even the aging of Lincoln, I must say this was a great film... If you like movies about history, or are a fan of films from the early days of cinema, then this is for you. I liked it and give it 4/10 stars. Thats pretty good coming from me, Im the hardest movie critic to please.

Famous silent film director D. W. Griffiths gave us this plodding straightforward historical biopic of the sixteenth president of the United States. As one of Griffiths' few attempts at 'talkies', Abraham Lincoln is by no means outstanding. Like other films of the period, some of the actors (especially Ian Keith as J.W. Booth and Walter Huston as Lincoln) overact their gestures and facial expressions. While others overcompensate for the new medium and seem to play their roles too subtly (Una Merkel's Ann Rutledge).The film tells the story of Lincoln's rise from humble roots to become one of the most accomplished American orators of all time, while retaining the plain-spoken character that endeared him to the nation. The film uses an appreciative tone, and does not fairly represent Lincoln's considerable political acumen and the very calculated campaign strategies which put him in office. Instead, Griffiths chose to present Lincoln as the good, but somewhat melancholic president we know him to have been.The story is told in a series of vignettes depicted in scenes of about equal length - probably a limitation of the film technology available at the time. This mode of presentation does nothing to reduce the boredom factor. Most of the lines are pronounced very clearly with lengthy unnatural pauses between each line. Clearly, Griffiths was a little uncomfortable in the new sound medium and did not wish to experiment a great deal with it. The film picks up a bit as the civil war becomes its main focus. And some of the battle scenes are classic Griffiths' near-silent cinematography. However, even this is somewhat muted by the scenes of the president brooding over the dispatches he receives from his generals describing defeat after defeat.Recommended for early film buffs and young Lincoln afficionados only